One of the first albums I ever bought (it was actually a cassette tape) was Dead Man’s Party by Oingo Boingo in 1985. I was 13 years old at the time and thought that Danny Elfman (the lead singer of Oingo Boingo) and his crew were the most amazing and “creepiest” band ever (in the 1980′s we did not use the term “gothic”).
The album Dead Man’s Party was quite popular back when I was a teen, because it had several songs that were featured in movies that appealed to teenagers. For example, the song Dead Man’s Party was played by the band in the Rodney Dangerfield film Back to School and the song Weird Science was written for the 1985 movie of the same name. Now looking back- I think Danny Elfman was probably a marketing genius as well as a first rate composer with all these movie tie-ins to the album.
Danny Elfman has since gone on to compose the theme song for The Simpsons as well as many songs for current films. My favorite film that features Danny Elfman’s voice and composing talents would definitely have to be The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the movie- Danny Elfman is the singing voice of the irresistible lead character Jack Skellington- the leader of Halloween Town who decides for a change he would like a turn at running and improving upon Santa Claus’ main gig- Christmas.
I could go on and on writing about the considerable influence Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman have had on the music industry for decades… but did you know they have been around since the early seventies? Maybe you have been a fan of Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman for years like me and yet you did not know that the band started out as The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo in 1972. Here’s a fun video from 1976 showing the band in their early days on the 1970′s television show- The Gong Show. Enjoy!
Oh yeah! The Nightmare Before Christmas is SUCH an excellent movie!
Oh man, that takes me back. I never knew a lot about Oingo Boingo, but I always liked The Gong Show. All those old game shows, really. Let’s Make A Deal, Tic Tac Dough, Jokers Wild, Match Game.
I would love to say I remember Oingo Boingo but the fact is, I recall very little about the year 1985 or that decade for that matter. It’s a long story but suffice to say I was working five jobs during those days and it’s more likely my kids were listening and watching. Let’s see is that the same era of New Kids on the Block:)
Thanks for sharing, Michelle…
I remember Weird Science.
The TV show, not the movie, but I think they both used the same song. Not sure if I’ve ever seen the movie.